DS12 has a friend and yesterday he was telling me that this friend shoplifts and does graffiti. Initially my first reaction was to not let DS hang around this boy anymore, he will lead DS astray. The more I thought about it the more I realised I can't wrap DS up in cotton wool, I have to let him experience life and make mistakes. I talked to him about how he is an accomplice if they are together when the boy is tagging or shoplifting, the boy has asked DS to shoplift and he said "no" but he also said he's not cool. I told him he is cool because he said no and it takes a cool person to stand up for themselves. It's scary to "let go" of your child but it can be a good thing too.

Regards,
Dianne